Our Five Formal Ceremonies
During the academic year, Kenyon holds five annual celebrations that involve the full pomp and circumstance of a procession, regalia, music, bells, and all the trappings of a formal ceremony: Opening Convocation, Founders' Day, Honors Day, Baccalaureate and Commencement.
You may wish to bookmark our page listing each year's ceremony dates, which include procession line up, ceremony start and adjusted class schedule times.
Participating in Formal Ceremony Processions
While most employees who choose to participate in our ceremonies on an annual basis are faculty and administrators, any employee of Kenyon is allowed to participate in the formal processions, provided they are willing to "suit up" in the appropriate regalia. This includes visiting faculty and fellows, adjunct faculty, and members of the staff, both exempt and non-exempt.
For employees who are a little leery of joining the procession as a rule, you may wish to consider a "one shot" if you have a child in the senior class. Employees of Kenyon may choose to hand the diploma to their student in place of the President during the Commencement ceremony.
Attending Formal Ceremonies
Many administrators and staff members choose to attend the various ceremonies as audience members throughout the year to cheer on favorite colleagues and students. Typically, the largest turnout is for Commencement and the picnic lunch that follows, but you will always find familiar faces in the crowd at every ceremony.
How Do I Acquire Regalia?
Please contact commencement@kenyon.edu to find out about renting or purchasing regalia.
And, just for fun...
What is the Peel and When Do We Do It?
The Peel is one of Kenyon's ceremonial Middle Path traditions. Faculty and staff participating in the ceremony procession line up on each side of Middle Path between the Marriott Park Gates and the Church of the Holy Spirit.
The student procession, led by the senior faculty marshal, passes between the two lines on the way to the ceremony site in front of Samuel Mather Hall. As the end of the student procession passes, the flag bearers and faculty marshals standing at the Marriott Park Gates turn to follow the student procession down Middle Path, and the two lines on either side of the path "peel" into place behind them.
The Peel happens twice (and only twice!) each academic year: at Opening Convocation, as the first year class passes between the lines, and at Commencement, as the senior class passes between the lines.